© David J Phillip / AF

Woods led from start to finish for his 82nd PGA Tour win, tying Sam Snead at the top of the official winning record. The only thing that slowed him down was the torrential rain that swept through the second round, but Woods rose to the challenge with flying colors. At the end of a long week, he lost by one point on his last seven holes in front of fewer spectators on Monday morning, finishing with a final lap in 67 to beat Hideki Matsuyama (67) by three strokes in the very first. PGA TOUR event in Japan.

Fans thought they were coming to see a historic day, they weren't disappointed.

"Well, that's a lot"said Woods about his 82nd win. “It's about consistency and being sustained for a long period of time. … I am very lucky to have had the career I have had so far. "

During this Zozo Championship, as with the other 81 victories, Woods wore red in the final. (as well as a black vest.) After being recalled from the course due to darkness on Sunday, he and 45 other players returned on Monday morning to complete their remaining holes. Woods bogeyed on the 12 and saw his three-stroke lead reduced to two, but Matsuyama failed to convert a short birdie putt on the 14 (par-5).

Woods birdieed on the 14th and cruised from there, punctuating the victory with another birdie on the 18th.

Sungjae Im (65) and Rory McIlroy (67) are tied for third place at 13 under par, six strokes behind.

" Living legend ! Congratulations on the 82nd @TigerWoods! " Tony Finau tweeted as reactions poured in. The Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, where Woods won his first victory in 1996, also tweeted congratulations, as did Jack Nicklaus and Condoleezza Rice.

Gary Woodland, who played with Woods the last two rounds, said of his 82nd win it was just a crazy number. “You look at the guys who only won 10 times and it's pretty special. "

Snead was 52 when he won for the 82nd time; Woods has 43. He converted his leadership on 54 holes to a victory for the 55th time on 59 occasions, including his last nine.

It is tempting to look to the future. Vijay Singh won 22 times in his 11s, Kenny Perry 9, Steve Stricker XNUMX. What if Woods, who now has three wins in his XNUMXs, just started over?

But looking to the future doesn't fully appreciate the present moment, and how unlikely it all is. When asked to describe Woods in a few words, Chiba's superfans alternately compare him to a deity and a phoenix rising from the ashes, with the latter image being particularly powerful in Japan.

It is also particularly appropriate.

From 2014 to 2017, Woods often couldn't even swing a club. He took stock of his often gloomy health during the Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup, where he was assistant to the US captains. (Captain Woods will lead the US Presidents Cup Team at Royal Melbourne, December 12-15, and is expected to be the first captain to play since Hale Irwin in 1994.)

Finally, in April 2017, he saw Dr. Richard Guyer, of the Center for Disc Replacement at the Texas Back Institute, where spinal fusion surgery gave Woods a new lease of life. For the first time in years, he played a full program in 2018, punctuated by his 80th victory - his first in more than five years - on the Tour Championship at East Lake just over 13 months ago.

"The weak point was probably not knowing if I could live without pain again", he said at the time. "Will I be able to sit, stand, walk, lie down without feeling the pain I was in?" I didn't want to live like this. Is this how the rest of my life will be? "

Woods will be 44 in two months, and with his support, recent events have complicated matters nonetheless. His left knee was aching at the end of 2018, but because he wanted to play the 2019 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, he postponed the surgery. It seemed like a good choice as he won the Masters Tournament in April, his 15th major title and 81st victory overall.

Alas, the euphoria gave way to more pain: His knee ached so badly that he couldn't read the lines of putts. He didn't mention it, but his grades dropped and he passed out. He failed to reach the TOUR Championship and underwent his fifth knee surgery on August 20.

Therefore, Woods was sort of a question mark for the Zozo Championship. Would the knee hold up under the pressure of the golf tournament? He was 3 over par for his first three holes, but he bounced back with nine birdies for a score of 64. A typhoon and 25cm of rain wiped out the second round before it started, but he bounced back. with another 64 card.

Scores of 66 and 67 allowed him to maintain his independence in Japan, the seventh country in which he won. (The others: America, England, Scotland, Spain, Canada and Ireland.)

"To fight against the injuries he suffered, he is young and he plays incredibly well"said Woodland. “The ballstriking exhibit I've seen over the past two days is a joke. "

Woods added: "I didn't really think I would come back to this level of play."

That the event lasted until Monday morning was appropriate. The end of the Zozo Championship mirrored the past two years in Woods' own career: the bonus golf that left Woods and others smiling.

When will he break the record with number 83? It depends on when he plays next time - the Farmers Insurance Open is a good bet - and if and for how long he stays healthy.

If the longevity of his career mirrors that of Snead, then be careful.

"As for playing until the age of 52, I hope that will be the case"said Woods. "If you had asked me the question a few years ago, I would have given you a different answer, but the future certainly looks brighter than it has been, and I hope I can be as consistent as he was in his early fifties. "

Three wins in 13 months is a very good start.

To consult the leaderboard: click here.

For further, read our article on the first round:

Zozo Championship: Woods shares the lead with Woodland